the declaration of independence and the constitution are documents that provide the ideological foundations for the democratic government of the united states. the declaration of independence provides a foundation for the concept of popular sovereignty, the idea that the government exists to serve the people, who elect representatives to express their will. the us constitution outlines the blueprint for the us governmental system, which strives to balance individual liberty with public order.the meaning of “self-evident truths.” thomas jefferson was the principal author of the declaration of independence. the declaration states, “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….” what does “self-evident” mean? according to jefferson and other prominent thinkers of his time, such statements as “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights’ are obviously true. such statements do not require proof. the “truths” are held to be unquestionable and beyond debate, since their truth is said to be obvious. they can be stated without elaborating or defending them. these ideas were very familiar to jefferson and the other authors and editors of the declaration. they were also very familiar to most americans of the time. why should this have been so? history of the term “self-evident truths.” that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights” was self-evident to americans at the time of the writing of the declaration. they were a deeply religious people who were very familiar with the idea of universal human equality from the teachings of christianity and from english republicanism. they were familiar with the idea of inalienable rights from the political writings of john locke’s second treatise and other english sources. the “pursuit of happiness” would have been a self-evident consequence of the natural right to liberty, which no supporter of the revolution doubted. the colonists also believed strongly that the just powers of government are derived from the consent of the governed and that the governed have a right to revolution when government betrays its trust. again, these ideas came from locke and english republicanism. jefferson said that his purpose in writing the declaration was to express a shared understanding of “the american mind.” over the course of a few days in june 1776, thomas jefferson laid out the most fundamental principles and central political beliefs of the american revolution and of the people the revolution created. in stating that certain central propositions are “self-evident” truths, jefferson expressed what amounted to a common political creed. the “american creed” has been commented upon by patriots and scholars ever since. in reexamining it today, we realize that this american creed continues its role in providing cohesive force to a society not only divided by conflicting positions on controversial issues, but also united in seeking the fulfillment of its founding ideals
